UTSA senior Maia Campbell felt exhausted after just one attempt at a simple, standing shot put. So she left the training ring at Park West Athletic Complex to lie on a nearby bench.
In February Campbell suffered nausea for about two weeks even though she hardly ate. Friends told her she looked slim and she was alarmed to step on a scale and see that she had lost nearly 50 pounds since the beginning of the academic year.
Since Campbell could not muster the energy to practice, he visited a team doctor to have blood tests. She was waiting at home for the results when she received a call that she had to go to the emergency room immediately. A team trainer was on the way to pick them up.
“I am really scared. I’m really freaking out, “said Campbell. “I get paranoid very easily. So I just thought, ‘What’s going on? Will I Die?'”
After settling in a hospital bed and hooked up to an IV, she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. She was dehydrated and her blood sugar was extremely high, leading to almost a potentially fatal complication known as diabetic ketoacidosis.
“If I had waited any longer or something, I would probably have died, apparently,” said Campbell.
She spent four nights in the hospital struggling with doubts about her prospects of returning to competition and the guilt that she had brought her condition on herself by not changing her eating habits sooner.
This wasn’t the scenario she had envisioned when she decided to return to UTSA for a fifth year, but she decided to tackle the multitude of new drugs, develop a healthy diet, and head for a return to the litter circle push.
Despite facing the worst challenges of her shot put career, Campbell regained her strength that spring and aspired to break school records, claim a Conference USA title, and a spot at this week’s NCAA Outdoor Championships – her first appearance at Nationals.
“I had to stop looking at it like it was a curse,” said Campbell. “I was put in a position where I had to drastically change my life in order to achieve my goals. It forced me to do what I wanted to do in the original place and it brought me where I wanted to be. “
Pandemic problems
After hitting no indoor or outdoor mark better than 14.61 meters in her first three seasons in the program, Campbell returned to the workouts that kicked off her first seniors campaign of 2019-20, saying she wanted “everything participate”.
She improved her form as the season progressed and became more comfortable with rotating casts after using the sliding technique at Judson and during her early years at UTSA.
When the Conference USA indoor championships arrived in February, Campbell set a school record and won the C-USA title with a throw of 16.12 meters.
The feeling of having peaked added to the disappointment with the cancellation of the outdoor season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She wanted to finish her college career on her terms and pledged to exercise her option for an additional year of eligibility before the end of the spring semester.
Trainer Aaron Fox said roster changes provided UTSA with additional cash to increase Campbell’s scholarship compared to previous years. In autumn she completed her bachelor’s degree and this spring began a postgraduate course with a focus on movement science.
“Everyone was in tears, but I told her I really wanted her back,” said UTSA coach Chris Adams. “Her return has been good for her and good for the program because everyone loves her and I know she can throw far. Those tears and disappointments became, ‘Let’s get this thing going.’ “
Despite the promise of an extra year of competition, Campbell said she got into an unhealthy routine during the first few months of the pandemic.
She took a job at Circle K, working until 11pm or midnight most evenings, grabbing fast food because she was too tired to cook after her shift. She stayed up until 6 or 7 a.m. most nights, slept until just before starting work, and then repeated the process.
“It was a very bad schedule for me,” said Campbell. “There was a weight gain and I was very lethargic. Very lazy. Didn’t want to do anything and couldn’t do anything about the quarantine. “
When she underwent a physical exam on her return to UTSA that fall, she was not surprised that her blood pressure was high and her weight gained. She said the numbers were a “wake up call” to correct her sleep pattern and get back to exercise.
Adams said UTSA coaches opened the September sessions with the mentality that every athlete was training for the first time and cutting most workouts in half.
Campbell made one of the faster strides, Adams said, starting to hit her normal weight room marks in October.
“I thought, ‘Holy Moly, we’re almost back to where we were in March,'” said Adams. “That was actually pretty cool. But throwing it probably took until December when we somehow got it back to where we were. “
Back to the form
After she was hospitalized in February, Campbell struggled with litters that were routine two or three years ago and she got tired easily.
To manage her diabetes, she took long-acting insulin every night and short-acting insulin before every meal. She also took an anti-diabetic drug, as well as pills for blood pressure and cholesterol.
“It was very emotional,” said Campbell. “Some days I was fine and one day after doing good I just broke down and said, ‘I can’t do this, it’s so hard. I did that to myself. ‘ That was very disheartening in some places. “
Seeing Campbell struggling through the depths of her diagnosis, Adams told her not to worry about distance or technique during her first training back, just focus on throwing.
Her initial form was promising, and Adams said she had taken on the slow process of building to full force and tried to throw an inch further each day.
“She is a fighter. She’s not a surrender, ”said Fox. “I am not surprised with her. She’ll keep it going. She won’t be one to throw in the towel and say, ‘I’m done.’ She will keep trying. “
In mid-March, Campbell went back into competitions. And by the end of the month, she was nearing her normal numbers in the weight room.
At the Texas A&M Team Invitational in early April, Campbell threw a 15.77 to break an eight-year-old UTSA record. She broke her own mark twice in the weeks that followed, including a resounding 5:33 p.m. to take first place at the Conference USA Outdoor Championships on May 16.
“It’s long gone. I think it’s 100 percent plus, ”said Adams. “If you’re trying to tell me that this happened two and a half months ago or three months ago, I’d say you’re full of it.”
Campbell also said she felt 100 percent, and Fox said she “came back stronger than ever”.
The NCAA’s May 27 preliminary round was the toughest competition of her career, and she said she felt nerves on her first two throws of 15.49 and 14.59, respectively. She entered the circle for her final try, knowing this might be the end of her college career, and she began to cry when she learned that her grade of 16.74 had moved her 20 places to 11th.
“It was pretty great. Pretty phenomenal, ”said Adams. “It just shows what kind of character she is. What she went through and how she will never give up. It is great. It was a very exciting and very emotional throw. In two seconds you can go from screaming and madness to tears of joy. “
Campbell is participating in the NCAA Shot Put Finals in Eugene, Oregon on Thursday. She plans to return to UTSA as a volunteer trainer next year and continue training under Adams in hopes of representing the US Virgin Islands, where her mother was born, in international competition.
She has reached a “manageable” point in her diabetes care, she said, and has reduced her insulin dose to long-acting treatment every morning. She is proud to note that she has not collapsed or cried over the situation in a while and is ready for the challenge of the biggest meeting of her life.
“I just do it, I deserve to be there. I put the work in, of course, ”said Campbell. “Go there, have fun and appreciate my surroundings. Since this is my last year, I will no longer be able to go. So just appreciate the time I have. “
greg.luca@express-news.net
